Conventional ball safety netting systems offer protection to athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators from balls leaving the field of play. Some ball safety system nets are held up at the top of a pole by a quick clip, or a quick clip attached to a tether hanging from a pulley to facilitate the raising and lowering of the net.
For example, for lacrosse and field hockey applications, particularly when the fields are located within a running track or other confined space, 8-foot to 10-foot high ball safety netting systems are often employed. The system includes a straight 2-inch aluminum pole, quick-clip net attachment, and a 1¾ inch square mesh net. The net is fixedly attached along the top and the bottom of the poles. The systems also include slidable guide rings to retain the net to the poles along the middle of the poles. Ground sleeves with corresponding caps allow for a semi-permanent installation so that the poles can be removed as necessary. Typical installations occur across the ends and/or down the sidelines of the playing surface. Portable ball safety netting systems employ a portable base plate assembly. Locking pin connections allows the poles and base plate assembly to be disconnected for transport and storage. Sand bags may be employed to weigh down the base plate assembly.
For use on soccer fields, baseball/softball backstops, football goal post back-up nets, or in the segregation of playing fields from residential land or property, 12-foot to 40-foot high ball safety netting systems are often employed. Typically, 12-foot to 20-foot high ball safety netting systems include 4-inch aluminum poles, while 20-foot to 40-foot ball safety netting systems typically include 6-inch aluminum or steel poles. The poles may be straight or curved. Block pulleys and tethers allow for raising and lowering the heavy net having 1¾ inch or 4-inch square mesh depending on the application. The net is fixedly attached along the bottom of the poles. The systems also include slidable rope guide rings to retain the net to the poles along the middle of the poles.
There is a need for further improvements in ball safety netting systems, and more specifically, to ball safety netting systems in which a net, supported by a plurality of poles, is designed to automatically come down during periods of sustained high winds or ice build-up thereby inhibiting the likelihood of failure of the poles.